Eros & Thanatos
by Icefelis
Summary: "Are you afraid?" He breathed out. "I'm afraid of losing more..." She whispered, barely loud enough to be heard. She put her hands on the railing in front of her, clutching it tightly. "Are you afraid...of losing me, Sa-Ku-Ra?"


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Warning: There will be some adult themes in this story. Also, there are some SPOILERS (around chapter 515 of the manga). Nothing much, but still be warned.

**Eros & Thanatos**

"Are you afraid?" He breathed out. The warm air tickled the back of her neck. His body stayed separate from hers by a bare inch. Even with the distance, she felt the warmth his body emitted. With the merest flicker of her imagination she could feel the hard planes, the sharp angles of his form against her own softer one.

She felt his nose brush her hair, heard his intake of breath, and relished in the barely restrained violence she could feel emanating from him. The young woman breathed out slowly, knowing he awaited her answer.

"I'm afraid of losing more..." She whispered, barely loud enough to be heard. She put her hands on the railing in front of her, clutching it tightly. The kunoichi felt him gather her hair in one hand, shorter strands of pink hair slipping between his fingers. He tugged at the makeshift ponytail firmly but gently, until Sakura let her head fall to the side slightly, as he commanded her to.

The young man brushed his lips against the nape of her neck lingeringly, breathing in her scent once more as he felt her tremors. He parted his lips and tasted her skin, trailing his mouth to her jugular. Shivers coursed through her body at the feeling of his wet tongue against the sensitive skin of her neck.

She swallowed with difficulty, feeling her mouth turning dry.

"Please, don't." The medic whispered. The contact was too much. She feared to break in a million shards and to never be able to pick up the pieces and make them fit together. She had lost so much already, parts of her soul torn off and discarded carelessly both to the pleasure of her enemies, and for her own survival.

How many had died in this war? How many friends had she lost to a man – monster, her mind supplied - and his senseless quest for power?

_TenTen-Ino-Genma-Shino-Temari..._

She whimpered, cutting herself off, closing the curtain on the other names, on all the others she knew were dead, or MIA.

Dark pink lashes swept over her cheeks as her eyelids fluttered close. The man standing behind her stepped closer, letting go of her hair. She did not move, but bit on her lower lip, fighting to put away the memories she had called forth.

He set his hands on her shoulders, his skin warm, warmer than she had imagined, and also softer. The ninja ran his hands down her arms in the barest of touch, until he reached her own hands. Gently, he pried them from their death grip on the iron railing. The pinkette let out a small whimper. The sound prompted him to grip her hands and to move them across her body, until she stood with both of their arms wrap around her frail form. He tightened his embrace, holding her into place. The pinkette felt him press the length of his body against her back.

"Losing more?" The words were spoken slowly, the question clear. She gasped in a breath as he brushed his nose against the shell of her ear, the light touch making goose bumps appear on her skin. Sand brushed at her shins as the desert wind brought a cooling draft to the pair. The small grains stuck to her skin.

"Losing more precious people..." The ninja standing behind her put his chin over her shoulder and pressed his cheek against her temple, tightening his hold around her until it felt like she was drowning in his scent and in his warmth.

At the embrace, she went limp.

It took all of her willpower not to let all of her weight fall back against his body. He looked at the darkened sky with her. They stayed silent, staring at the stars, listening to the quietness of the desert. The feel of the man's body against hers thrilled her, even through both layers of their clothing, but she fought to hold back the sensation from overtaking her.

_Foolish!_

He broke the silence first.

"Sakura..." The young kage breathed out her name like a prayer, making her clench her hands to avoid touching him. Tears prickled at her eyes, unwanted disgusting tears, another proof of her weakness. She stepped out of his embrace forcefully, having to use some of her enhanced strength to break his hold on her. She stepped back until her bottom touched the rail of the balcony and turned wide glassy eyes towards him.

"How many more?" Sakura choked out, clutching at her heart unconsciously, her hand bunching the material of her shirt until it became tight around her frame. Her companion cocked his head, expressionless, and stepped towards her, closing the distance she still tried desperately to create between them.

"How many more needed die?" A harsh sob escaped her throat. The medic grasped at her neck half in surprise, half trying to stop herself from letting out another sound. Still he watched her.

She shivered.

Sand rose behind her, blanketing her against the chill of the desert. Gaara closed in on her, trapping her between the sand and his body. His eyes ran over her face, assessing, searching.

"Are you afraid... of losing me?" He whispered tonelessly, his gaze nearly reptilian as he looked at her. The medic gasped in a breath, feeling panic scratch and climb its way slowly through her body, clutching at her throbbing heart, and continuing upwards to take away all logic and control.

The teal-eyed man's hand rose until his fingertips touched her chin and he tilted her head up. She had no choice but to expose her soft throat to him, rendering herself even more vulnerable, but also open in his eyes. One corner of his mouth quirked up and her gaze flew to his.

"Gaara..." She whimpered before licking her lips. His stare strayed down to her pink tongue, his pupils expanding until the light blue-green of his eyes nearly disappeared. The sand behind her pushed her closer to his body, until she could feel every contour, every indentation, from his chest to his strong thighs.

She shuddered.

He leaned down, brushing his lips against hers. The kunoichi gasped, eyes sliding shut and lips parting under his at the sensation of velvet skin against hers. His tongue brushed at the seams of her lips lightly, wrenching a shiver out of her. Her own tongue reached out tentatively to his, and the first touch made her breath catch in her throat. He ended the kiss just as painstakingly slow as he started it.

"Are you afraid...of losing me, Sa-Ku-Ra?"Gaara breathed out shakily against her mouth before closing his lips around her lower lip, and then upper lip in lingering kisses.

The pinkette swallowed thickly and opened her eyes slowly, unwilling to face the man which held her trembling resolve within his grasp. She immediately drowned in soft teal eyes which watched her patiently, but also shined with hunger.

"I can't..." She whimpered. "I can't..." Her voice broke on the words, the rest of her sentence forgotten. She couldn't explain, couldn't say the words to make him understand that she couldn't afford to care about some else, not when they played such an important role in this war, not when she could –would, her mind interjected- lose him.

The kazekage grasped her hair in his fist, pulling her head back, and slanted his lips over her in a gentle kiss which belied the violence she felt coiling in his form. The pink-haired woman wrapped her arms around his shoulders and felt his muscles corded with tightly controlled tension. Sand swirled around her legs, brushing and teasing, the slightest slip of his impeccable control.

His other hand spanned her back and moved downward until he pressed it against her lower back, dangerously close to her bottom. His warmth and his scent swarmed her as she drowned in his kisses, until a pleasant throbbing appeared between her thighs. She pressed herself closer to the man holding her, melting into his touch and fusing her hips to his. Suddenly, she only wanted to feel him, to feel the hard planes of the body, and as she did, the young medic gasped, aching for more.

An image flashed through her mind unbidden; Gaara leaning over her, watching her as he trusted into her, her legs wrapped around his hips and her back arching at the pleasant intrusion. She moaned unexpectedly.

Her eyes flew open at the unwanted sound, and she immediately tried to step back from the kiss. She was losing control. He made her forget, made her want things she shouldn't, made her want to take a risk she couldn't take.

Before she had time to blink, he captured her again and turned them around, making her step backwards until she found herself pressed against the wall. The impact tore a small gasp from her mouth, but she did not resist.

Sand formed a cocoon around them, slowly separating them from the rest of the world. Yet she did not struggle, did not fear the man holding her, and the destruction she knew those grains capable to be.

What she feared was something she couldn't fight, something she couldn't touch or destroy.

Sakura blinked in the darkness. A warm moist mouth closed over her collarbone, dropping lingering kisses, until it reached her neck. A wet tongue snaked out and licked a path along her jugular to her ear. She shuddered.

He breathed hotly against her ear, pressing his body against hers until she was trapped between him and the wall. The feeling sent surges of desire through her thighs and belly. She felt him take her earlobe between his teeth and tug lightly, before he soothed the sting with a light suck.

The sand ninja ran his hands down her sides to clutch her hips, long fingers touching her ass lightly as his thumbs brushed the skin exposed between her pants and shirt. The intimacy of the gesture made her so aware it felt like sparks danced on her skin.

"Are you afraid...of losing me, Sa-Ku-Ra?" He breathed out hotly against her ear, as he ran his hands upwards and under her shirt.

She whimpered.

He wrapped one arm around her back, and released her other side to brush his fingertips down the side of her face, his touch feather light.

The tenderness of the gesture broke the dam.

"Yyesssss..." She hissed out, reaching out for him. The leaf ninja brushed her fingers through his hair until she grasped his head and brought his mouth to hers for a deep kiss. She tugged at his hair, arching into him, suddenly feeling desperate to feel him, to be alive with him. He let out a sound, somewhere between a growl and a moan, plastering her against the wall and gripping her thigh to wrap around his hip. The pinkette moaned in the kiss, jumping to wrap her other leg around him even as she tugged at his clothing, trying to get at his skin.

The robes he wore resisted her assault and she was only able to slip her hands underneath the collar until she touched his back. Still, the sensation of skin underneath her touch made her sigh in pleasure and relief.

The man holding her pressed his lower body against hers none-too-gently, his restrain now gone. The pleasurable feeling made her gasp and dig her nails in his back.

"Sa-ku-ra..." Gaara growled out as he tugged her shirt open and closed his lips around her shoulder, her collarbone and lower on her sternum.

The medic hissed in a breath, her body thrumming with pleasure and excitation until she felt like crying from the thought of relief. She pulled her hands from underneath his robes, reaching to take off her shirt, to offer and to take more. He straightened to help her as much as possible with one hand, fusing his lips with her in a deep kiss, unwilling to give the time to her old train of thoughts to resurface.

A loud noise startled them both, their kiss breaking as they gasped for air. The sand wall fell slowly, until they simply stood wrapped around each other, gazes interlocked.

"General!" A man screamed through the door, knocking once more. Gaara watched her, his pupils dilated, a flush pinkening his skin. He licked his lips and let her slide down the length of his body until she stood on her own. Sakura panted lightly, trying to regain her composure, feeling suddenly oh so cold without his touch. How could she have allowed herself to lose control? How could she have allowed herself to care?

"General! You are needed!" The blood-coloured haired man tore his gaze away, looking at the door.

"I will be down shortly." He called out, voice low, nearly growling. Sakura bit on her lower lip. She felt shaken, unbalanced, as she looked at the man standing so tall and confident in front of her. The medic raised a shaky hand to brush her hair back.

Before she could do so, Gaara stepped forward, grasping her hand. Holding her gaze, he brought her fingers to his mouth, and kissed the sensitive digits lightly. She watched him blindly, her thoughts racing.

_Gone-lose him-another one-death-stupid-shouldn't have care-should have known better-_

"I will be back, Sakura." He broke her chain of thoughts, his words laden with meaning. His gaze held her, ordering her to stay still and to believe.

Sakura turned to watch him go.

When the door closed behind him, she sat down on the balcony, and waited.

_I will be back, Sakura._

End

Well, here it is, with making out only.

As for the title, well it has two senses.

The first sense is related to Freud. In Freudian psychology, Eros is the name given to the life drive, and Thanatos is the name given to the death drive. Long story short, I liken Sakura to the life drive (medic) and Gaara to the death drive (repeated traumatisms and killing others). I won't go too in depth, but I can link them to each drive, based on their personality and past history.

However, circumstances are reversing their roles.

Sakura is facing death and destruction, being in a war where she has lost many friends and loved ones. As such, she is trying to keep herself from caring about other people, consequently protecting herself from future losses, but also deadening herself at the same time (death drive). Gaara is reaching out for her, trying to bring her back to life (life drive). I think of this as something similar to the phenomenon we see following wars, where people start having a lot of children, as if after so much death and suffering, they needed life.

I'm not an expert on Freud though, so it's a pretty naive reflection I had when thinking about the characters.

Hopefully it makes somewhat sense to you, the readers!

Nonetheless, I hope that you enjoyed!


End file.
